La Sierra University (LSU) and Pacific Union College (PUC) beat their previous enrollment records this year. LSU received their highest number ever, 2,478 students, who enrolled for the Fall 2013 term. This is the fourth year in a row that LSU has seen an enrollment increase. Over that time, the student body has grown by 33 percent. The H.M.S. Richards Divinity School experienced a 29 percent jump in undergraduate majors and a 16 percent increase in graduate students. Biology students have enrolled in such large numbers that the university has outfitted two new labs to accommodate demand. The year-old film and television program more than doubled in enrollment and the criminal justice program has grown to 183 students and expanded to a second campus in Ontario.
PUC received the highest enrollment in 24 years, with a total enrollment of 1,678, an increase of 62 students over the 1,616 students at this time last year and the exact same number enrolled in 1989. The college realized both an increase of new students and growth in retention. Between freshmen and transfers, PUC has 503 new students this year. The freshman to sophomore retention rate grew from 77 to 84 percent. Pacific Union Recorder, Dec. 2013

Jerry Lutz, MDiv, has been elected as Chesapeake Conference executive secretary by the conference Executive Committee. Lutz replaces Kleyton Feitosa who accepted a call to serve as president of the Egypt-Sudan Field. Lutz has been senior pastor of the nearly 1800-member Spencerville church in Silver Spring, Md. since 1996. Before then he pastored several churches in central California. He has served on the Chesapeake Conference Executive Committee and on various NAD and GC boards and committees. He hosts and moderates the weekly, nationally broadcast television program,The American Religious Town Hall Meeting, on which expert panelists of various faiths and religions discuss and debate current events as they relate to matters of religious liberty. MORE

Gone but not Forgotten - Don Gray, March 19, 1926 to January 11, 2014, has died at age 87 in Portland, Ore. Longtime visionary and evangelist, he and his wife wrote seven books, as well as a set of 24 Bible lessons that were translated into more than 76 languages. They traveled the world promoting evangelism for the Adventist church in Russia, China and Europe. They worked closely with George Vandeman and It Is Written, the Voice of Prophecy, Mark Finley, Pacific Publishing Press, and many of the church’s organizations in a worldwide witnessing, and evangelistic effort. Don was one of the pioneers in multimedia approach to communication and witnessing.

A memorial service is scheduled for February 8. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations in Don's memory be made to the Portland TV Ministry Fund of the Oregon Conference. MORE

Adventist HealthCare President Named to List of Influential Marylanders by The Daily Record

Submissions are now being accepted for the 2014 SONscreen Film Festival, Mar. 20-22, at Southern Adventist University. Submissions deadline: March 7. This year films can be entered in the student categories of Drama, Documentary, Animation, Public Service Announcement and High School. Professionals may also submit films that will be considered for showing at the festival, but won’t be eligible for prizes. A new category this year that is open to both students and professionals is titled “Seventh-day Adventists: United for Mission,” and is sponsored by the GC Communication Department.
SONscreen Film Festival, now in its 12th year, was started as a way of encouraging and promoting the work of Christian young people who are studying the art of film making. The festival was expanded to include high school students who compete for the Jonathan Dulan award and a college scholarship. MORE

Children's Leadership Conference will be held March 28-30. If you or someone you know loves teaching kids about Jesus and need ideas, inspiration or encouragement, then this event is for you! Come learn and grow from the best trainers in Adventism, including Richard Aguilera, Miss Brenda, and Phyllis Washington. Full Adventurer Basic Staff Training and Hispanic Workshop Tracks (Basic and Advanced) will be available. Other workshops include Kids' Health Expo, Creative Prayer Ministry, Children's Ministries basics, and much more. Several of the workshops will be great for kids who would like to learn more about ministry. It will be held on the campus of Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Mich. Register before February 28 for the best rate. MORE

Attend the 2014 PSI Fundraising Conference, June 24-27 in Baltimore, Md. Held only every three years, the Philanthropic Services for Institutions Conference is the premier fundraising conference in the church. At previous conferences 96% of survey respondents have said that the PSI conference was very good; 89% said that they would likely attend the next conference. Register, get track, speaker and session titles. You can also learn more about networking events and other great things that will occur during your stay in Baltimore. MORE

A compilation of Spirit of Prophecy Counsel Relating to Church-State Relationships was assembled in 1964 by the Ellen G. White Estate. In 2011 Liberty Magazine reformatted the material for a custom printing. Now it's available to you for download via the NARLA website. Like NARLA on Facebook.

Just "Click" to share your beliefs: The Fundamental Beliefs videos and other updates are shared on the My Way to Jesus Facebook page and from there onto the NAD Facebook page. Both updates link back to www.MyWaytoJesus.com, NAD's "seeker site." The site offers options such as sending a prayer request, enrolling in the Discover Bible Course, watching a beliefs video, and a connection to Adventist Information Ministry where people can chat with someone about spiritual issues or things that are troubling them. "Like" these pages on Facebook, and then share the updates with your friends.

You can share the Beliefs videos on your own website: Just go to www.vimeo.com/channels/didyouknow for the entire video series and click on the "Share" button in the upper right corner of a specific video for the embed code, to share on social media or to email to a friend.

Groups for fun and hobbies such as running, biking, tennis, photography, or just eating out occasionally, were organized at a Small Groups Fair held at the University Parkway Church in Pensacola, Fla. More than 100 people signed up for the various groups.
"The goal is connecting with others through fellowship. We hope to invite many others from the community to connect with the church and Jesus through these activities," said Pastor Jeffery Crain.
To follow up on the success of this kickoff event, members plan to repeat a Small Groups Fair every 90 days. It will give people opportunities to change groups and get to know more people. The fairs help to promote community awareness and increase their connections. "The hope is that sharing our interests in the small groups will help build relationships for eternity," said Crain. MORE: Southern Union Tidings, April 2013, p. 22